Method of finishing furs



Nov- 6, 1951 F. H. RICHTERKESSING 2,574,452

METHOD OF FINISHING FURS' 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 11, 1948 INVENTOR.

FRANK H. RICHTER/(ESS/NG ATTORNEY Nov. 6, 1951 F. H. RICHTERKESSING 2,574,452

METHOD OF FINISHING FURS Filed March 11, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 CON0EN$A TE IN V EN TOR. FRANK f1! RIC/1'7 EEK ESSING yMm.

ATTORNEY Nov. 6, 1951 F. H. RICHTERKESSING 2,574,452

METHOD OF FINISHING FURS Filed March 11, 1948 4 Sheet s-Sheec 3 INVENTOR.

FRANK H. R/CHTERXZSSING 1951 F. H. RICHTERKESSING ,4

METHOD OF FINISHING FURS Filed March 11, 1948 4 Sheets-Shet 4 ABGA AT TUBA/EV Patented Nov. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFKZE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to a method for finishing furs, and has particular reference to a method for cleaning, steaming, ironing, glazing and/or finishing furs.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive method that utilizes warm-air, and a mixture of warm-air and dry-steam discharged from a portable hand-held gun, and a cloud of moist steam discharged from a portable hand-held fur-iron, in the cleaning, steaming, ironing, glazing and/or finishing of furs.

More specifically, one object of my invention is to provide a simple method for finishing furs in which a mixture of heated compressed-air and dry-steam is employed to neutralize static electricity developed in the fur, so as to make removal of lint and other embedded foreign matter a relatively simple operation, especially saw-dust, nut-shells, corn products or other agents used in the drum-cleaning of furs; in which blasts of heated compressed-air is employed to remove the embedded foreign matter, to break-down and remove matted conditions of the fur, to whip the fur with and against the lay of guard hairs, to develop the curl in curly furs, to dry and breakup moistened areas, and to lay guard hairs; and in which a steam-emitting iron having a cushioned metallic wire-screen covering is employed to comb, iron, glaze and/or straighten the fur and/or guard hairs either by long-sweeping strokes of the iron, or a swinging of the iron, lightly to-and-fro, depending upon the nature and type of fur under treatment.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple method for finishing furs in which heated compressed-air, and a mixture of heated compressed-air and dry-steam is discharged selectively from a portable hand-held gun under the control of a single foot-pedal operated by the ,operator, wherein partly depressing the pedal releases heated compressed-air through the gun,

and a depression of the pedal completely down releases a mixture of heated compressed-air and dry-steam through the gun, thereby allowing the operator to change instantly from one condition to the other while simultaneously moving the gun over the fur, without interrupting the continuous treatment of the fur, and without distracting the attention of the operator from his continuous observation of the response of the fur to the treat- --ment. Thus, the hands of the operator are free to handle the portable gun, and to handle the fur garment under treatment.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple method for finishing furs in which an electrically-heated steam-emitting iron having a cushioned wire screen covering is employed to comb, iron, glaze, finish and/or straighten the fur and/or guard hairs, in which a cloud of steam is selectively discharged through the cushioned screen covering under the'control of a foot pedal operated by the operator, thereby allowing the operator to change instantly from a fur steaming operation to a fur ironing operation without interrupting the continuous treatment of the fur and without distracting thecontinuous attention of the operator from the response'of the fur to the steaming and ironing operations.

A further object of my invention-is to provide a simple method of finishing all curly-haired furs such as Persian lamb, krimmer, caracul, broadtail, Persian paw, etc, which consists of discharging a mixture of heated compressed-air and drysteam directly into atmosphere horizontally above the portion of the fur garment under treatment, and then, as the moisture of condensation from the aforesaid mixture settles onto the surface of the fur, directing blasts of heated compressedair directly into the curl of thefur ina circular motion, so as to develop the curl and remove all imbedded foreign matter.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple method of finishing furs such as beaver and otter, etc. which consists of combing the for with a toothed furrier's comb, then continuously flushing and whipping the fur with heated compressed-air intermittently mixing therewith, at frequent intervals, brief blastsof dry-steam to neutralize the static condition developed in the fur, break-down matted areas, remove foreign matter and to straighten and loosen compressed fur, and then ironing the fur with a heated iron having'a cushioned wire-screen covering providing a gentle combing action while ironing, using long-sweeping strokes, and intermittently discharging briefv clouds of steam through thescreen covering to provide the required moisture.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a simple method of finishing furs such as Alaska seal, Safari, Log-Wood Seal, etc, which consists of continuously flushing and whipping the fur with and against the lay of guard hairs with heated compressed-air intermittently mixing therewith, at frequent intervals, brief blasts of dry-steam to neutralize the static condition developed in the fur,'break-down matted areas, remove foreign matter and to straighten and loosen compressed fur andgua-rd hairs, and then ironing the fur with. a heated, iron having a cushioned wire-screen covering providing a gentle combing action while ironing, using long-sweeping strokes in the direction of the lay of guard hairs, and intermittently discharging brief clouds of steam through the screen covering to provide the required moisture.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a simple method of finishing furs such as muskrat, Hudson seal, mink, Northern seal, lapin, fox, skunk, ermine, fitch, Mouton lamb, squirrel, etc., which consists of continuously flushing and whipping the fur with heated compressed-air intermittently mixing therewith, at frequent intervals, brief blasts of dry-steam to neutralize the static condition developed in the fur, break-down matted areas, remove foreign matter and to straighten and loosen compressed fur and/ 01' guard hairs, and then ironing the fur with a heated iron having a cushioned wirescreen covering providing a gentle combing acthe surface of the fur garment keeping the gun or the iron in motion.

It has also been found that the treatment of all furs is essentially the same, requiring only slight variations in procedure dependent upon the nature and condition of the fur under treatment. Generally, curly furs require the least treatment, in that removal of imbedded foreign matter and the development of the curl is all that is necessary to provide the required finish.

Other furs having straight or standing fur and/ or guard hairs often require a little ironing in addition to the removal of imbedded foreign matter so as to touch-up, straighten and condition the fur to provide the required glaze or luster, while peltries such as short-hair, pony or colt which have a natural moir pattern, preferably require pressure ironing with a smooth heated platten, such as a hot-head dry-cleaners press, to press the short hairs fiat against the peltry so that the light reflected from the hairs an examination of the peltries discloses that there isa double set of protective hairs. First of all, there are the long, glossy, strong, elastic hairs ,thatare referred toas the guard hairs. rounding these, and in most cases from one-half Surto two-thirds as long, but very soft, somewhat curly, and of a dull appearance. are the fur fibers. Under closer inspection a third group of hairs is observed, and these are often called intermediary hairs. In reality these are undeveloped guard hairs, and, for present purposes, they are classed with the guard hairs.

thus, the term guard hair, in the strict sense of the word, refers to those forms that are straight, resilient, and somewhat coarse and refiect light well, thereby giving a lustrous appearance to the surface.

The term fur is applied to the fine, soft, and often silky hairlike forms that are found in great profusion on most quaorupeds in their wild state. Generally, fur has long lipped scales, and the free edges of these felt and interlock, espe cially in the presence of water, but the guard hairs never felt or interlock, so that these can always be distinguished from the other. Thus, the threadlike shape of fur, and their tendency to felt, places them in the category of a fibre, hence the name fur fibre. Both the guard hair and fur fibre have shinglelike protuberances that point upward toward the respective ends, and these are often referred to as scales." The shape, position and condition of these scales have a distinct bearing on the luster or glaze of the hair or fur fibre. In this respect, what is re ferred to as glaze or luster, is the unbroken reflection of light from the surface of the hair or fur fibre.

It is well known that a smooth surface, such as glass, reflects light well, while a broken or rough surface, such as untreated wool, reflects light poorly.

Thus, when the scales of the fur fibre and/or guard hair are folded tightly together, a bright or brilliant luster is produced. In like respect, when all of the fur fibres and/or guard hairs lay in substantially the same plane or direction, the

greatest brilliance or luster is provided. Therefore, the present invention has for its principal object the provision of a simple and inexpensive method and apparatus for conditioning both the guard hairs and fur fibres to provide a high luster, which luster is effected through the use of heated compressed-air and steam, as aforesaid, to neutralize static, remove embedded foreign matter, break-up matted conditions, soften and straighten both hair and fur, thereby to restore them to an upstanding fluffy state or so that they lie substantially in the same plane or direction.

In this respect, it is well known that a humid atmosphere will neutralize static, therefore, in my invention, this is accomplished through the use of a mixture of heated compressed-air and steam, wherein the heated compressed-air is lower in temperature than that of the steam, but still above atmospheric temperature, so that the heated compressed-air takes on heat from the steam and thus reduces the temperature of the mixture to provide a uniformly saturated vapor state.

When the temperature of the compressed-air is considerably lower than that of the steam, as, for instance, if cold compressed-air is used, the steam is condensed, thereby causing slugs of water to be discharged from the gun which will wet-out the fur fibre and greatly increase matting.

Likewise, the use of heated compressed-air alone, to break-up matted conditions and to remove embedded foreign matter has the decided improved advantage of taking-on moisture panacea rapidly from the *fur fibre so #as -to speed-up the operation of breaking-mp matted conditions act the "fur-fibre. I

It'-i's also"well known that the guard hair and fur fibre respond 'to moisture somewhat like human hair, in that moistening of the hair and fibre *ma'kes them limp so that they may be ironed" or blown into a straight condition. Y.

Thus, it "will be seen that the moist vapor state, provided "by the mixture of heated compressedair and dry-steam, makes the hair and fibre 'lim-p, and when immediately followed by a blast of heated "compressed-air, the velocity and "pressure of the heated --compressed--air straig'htens the hair of fur' fibre and simultanev Lously evaporates rapidly the moisture from the hair or fur fibre, thus placing it in a fi-nis'hed state subject-toia slight touch-up in the ironing "operation.

From the foregoing, the advantages of the 'objects recited at the outset will become more "apparent, as the following description "is read in connection with the accompanying drawings,

inwihich:

"Figure 1 is a'perspe'ctive view oione commercial form'of complete apparatus with which this invention can be practiced.

"Figure 2 is anelevation'of the plumbing-system and valve operating means thereof separated from the remainder .of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional-elevational view of the lower steam chamber and ,thesteam valve therefor along line 33- 3 of'Fig. 2.

Figure! *is a 'front "perspective view or an as sembly of units organized to constitute another form of apparatus withwhich this'invention can be practiced.

Figure 5 is a rear perspective view onan enlarged scale of the plumbing apparatus of Fig. 4 removed and supplemented with additional pipe and accessories therefor 'for connection tosupply and discharge service's.

Figures 16, 7 and '8 are respectively, plan, sideelevation and sectional-elevation (the latter along line 8-8 of Fig. '7) on an enlarged scale, of the double compartment chamber shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 the base, designated by numeral I8, is equipped with bearings (not shown) for carrying shafts II and I2 (Fig. 2) and organized for supporting column I3 on which is mounted a garment operation or work board I4 and to which a shelf I5 (known in commerce as basket) is attached by media of a hairpin loop I6, bracket I1 and clamp I8. Perch I9, projecting from the lower portion of the column, supports chamber 29 having two compartments 2I, 22, provided respectively for storing steam and compressed air.

Supported by column 23, mounted on the far rear corner of board It, is .upper steam chamber 24 connected to the upper portion of the lower steam chamber 2I by pipe 25 organized to conduct live steam to the upper chamber and drain condensate therefrom.

Live steam supply line 26 for chamber 2I is equipped with manual valve 21 and automatic check valve 28 while boiler return line 29 is equipped with a steam trap 30, automatic check valve 3| and manual valve 32. i, p

Compressed air is maintained in chambergz22 through supply line 33 equipped with check valve 34 and manual valve 35.

Fig. 3 shows a side elevational view of the conventional quick acting valve designated as a whole 1, 2 and 3.

5 by numeral 36 or which Ya front 'elevational "view is-"shown in Fig. 5 2 'at' the top or and closing steam chamber 21. A duplio'ate 'il'i. of said'valve-i's similarly located at the top o'f compressed air compartment 22. In this Figf3, 2 5A, '2lA and 291A indicate openings, respectively, for line's' 2-5, 2fi and 2 9. *Numeral 3'8 designates generally'another waive of this type, 'howeverequipped with *of column 1?, and shown diagrammatically only in Fig. 2), rod 5? articulated at 58 to 'arm 59 keyed to one end of shaft I 2 while pedal 69 is keyed to the'other end thereof.

Normally-closed valve 36 controls the flow of steam from compartment 2i to pipe 33 while valve'3l likewise controls the flow of compressed warm air to said pipe through pipe that joins the former at E5 to provide a mixing chamber for fluids that how to hand-heldgun flfi through hose Ill when bothof these valves are open. These valves are organized for sequential operatime through linkage including pivoted arms associated therewith, the clevises and rods 58-5! that have a common articulation at 52 witharm '53 that is keyed'to one end of shaft II while op- :erating pedal 54 is keyed to the other end of said shaft. This sequential operation is effected by depressing pedal '52 only part way thereby opening valve .3! which releases only warm air to pipes d4, 43 and hose ll for discharge by the .gun, further depressing this pedal opens steam valve 35, when .a mixture of the -two fluids are supplied to the gun through thesame corn'luits. The two fluids are completely mixed at junction 45 and in pipe 43, which pipe is referred to herein as a mixing chamber.

Counterparts of all the essential elements referred to above required for practicing this invention are shown as an assembly of units on and at table I ill in Figs. 4 through 8, consequently, as far as practical the last two numerals, and letters where employed, of the identifying characters therein correspond to like parts in Figs.

Consequentially, a detailed description of all these parts appears superfluous, however, since these figures can be regarded as drawings from which a mechanic could construct this air-steam dispensing unit, further details of the valve structure and the operation thereof follow.

Levers ISEEA, I3TA that operate valve stems I368, I 313 respectively and sequentially have holes in the free ends thereof. Link 48A is threaded through these holes and suspended by a wing nut from lever I3'IA. As chain 48 is pulled down by force applied thereto, valve stem I31S moves and head IB'IH is removed from its seat and thereby releases heated compressed air to mixing chamber M, pipe I43 and hose I41 to gun M6. Further force applied to the chain brings the end of lever I3'IA into engagement with the end of lever I36A, whereupon valve stem I368 is thrust downward thereby removing valve head I36H from its seat and steam is released into mix-' ing chamber M where the two fluids are mixed,

Thus, while warm air is flowing to the gun the operator is provided with facilities whereby he can add steam to the warm air in varying amounts and project the desired degree of moisture to the fur under treatment. Instantly the operator can, by releasing pressure on the pedal, return to the delivery of warm air alone or shut off the supply of both fluids at will and without having removed his hands or attention from manipulating the gun and garment under conditioning procedure. The sequential operation of these valves through an actuator common to each, as explained, wherein lever I31A travels a predetermined distance before engaging lever 136A, may be referred to as a predetermined lost motion.

Needle valve 136C is provided to limit or control the amount of steam that flows to mixing chamber M when valve head I36H is completely removed from its seat, likewise needle valve l 310 similarly functions when valve head [31H is fully open.

While it will be apparent that the illustrated embodiments of my invention herein disclosed are well calculated to adequately fulfill the objects and advantages primarily stated, it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible to variation, modification and change within the spirit and scope of the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. The method of finishing curly-haired furs such as Persian lamb, krimmer, caracul, broadtail, Persian paw, which consists of discharging a mixture of heated compressed-air and drysteam directly into atmosphere horizontally above the portion of the fur garment under treatment, and then, as the moisture of condensation from the aforesaid mixture settles on to the surface of the fur, directing blasts of heated compressed-air directly into the curl of the fur in a circular motion, so as to develop the curl and remove imbedded foreign matter.

2. The method of finishing furs such as beaver and otter, which consists of combing the fur with a toothed furriers comb, then continuously flushing and whipping the fur with heated compressedair, intermittently mixing therewith, at frequent intervals, brief blasts of dry-steam to neutralize the static condition developed in the fur, breakdown matted areas, remove foreign matter and to straighten and loosen compressed fur, and then smoothing with long sweeping strokes the fur with a heated implement having a cushioned wirescreen covering providing a gentle combing action while ironing, and intermittently discharging brief clouds of steam through the screen covering to provide the required moisture.

3. The method of finishing furs such as Alaska seal, Safari, Log-Wood Seal, which consists of continuously flushing and whipping the fur with and against the lay of guard hairs with heated compressed-air, intermittently mixing therewith, at frequent intervals, brief blasts of dry-steam to neutralize the static condition developed in the fur, break-down matted areas, remove foreign matter and to straighten and loosen compressed fur and guard hairs, and then smoothing with long sweeping strokes in the direction of the lay of the guard hairs the fur with a heated iron having a cushioned wire-screen covering providing a gentle combing action while smoothing and intermittently discharging brief clouds of steam through the screen covering to provide the required moisture.

, FRANK H. RICHTERKESSING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,517,956 Compton Dec. 2, 1924 1,574,767 Thurton Mar. 2, 1926 1,615,713 McDuflie Jan. 25, 1927 1,788,026 Laskin Jan. 6, 1931 1,824,105 Traux Sept. 22, 1931 2,410,898 Pierini Nov. 12, 1946 

